TransAlta Corporation $TAC Shares Bought by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in TransAlta Corporation (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) by 17.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,428,195 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 217,200 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.48% of TransAlta worth $18,709,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in TransAlta by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC raised its position in shares of TransAlta by 8.7% during the 1st quarter. Sage Rhino Capital LLC now owns 11,078 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $145,000 after buying an additional 882 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of TransAlta by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 48,926 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $620,000 after buying an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 52,339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $715,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 16,568 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,566 shares in the last quarter. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on TAC. Scotiabank upgraded shares of TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Weiss Ratings raised TransAlta from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 16th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on TransAlta in a research report on Wednesday, June 10th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. TD Cowen initiated coverage on TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Finally, TD Securities restated a “buy” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, TransAlta presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $23.00.

TransAlta Stock Up 3.5%

NYSE TAC opened at $12.87 on Friday. TransAlta Corporation has a 12 month low of $11.38 and a 12 month high of $17.88. The company has a market capitalization of $4.07 billion, a P/E ratio of -23.82 and a beta of 0.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $13.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $13.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.61, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

TransAlta (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.01 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $406.19 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $436.36 million. TransAlta had a negative net margin of 9.46% and a positive return on equity of 9.52%. Equities research analysts expect that TransAlta Corporation will post 0.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TransAlta Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.07 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $0.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -37.04%.

TransAlta Profile

TransAlta Corporation, originally founded in 1909 as Calgary Power Company Ltd., is a publicly traded energy company specializing in the development, ownership and operation of power generation and transmission assets. Headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, TransAlta has grown from its early hydroelectric roots into a diversified energy provider with a multi-fuel generating fleet.

The company’s core business activities encompass power generation, asset management and energy trading services.